It would at any rate be interesting to know where Norman Kennedy got his story from. So far as anyone knows, Roberton set his new words to a Lochaber tune, as mentioned a couple of times earlier; and none of the (vague enough) descriptions anyone has come up with of the old song seem to have much to do with owls. It may also have been known in the Islands, of course; but if it was, Roberton doesn't seem to have known about that. Equally, Roberton's text may subsequently have been translated into Gaelic, which would not be unusual, and could possibly Strupag's hearing it there.